10th UN Forum on business and human rights

Empowering people and building a business and human rights community in Central and Eastern Europe

Organized by the Working Group on Business and Human Rights in collaboration with the Business and Human Rights Lab at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Ukraine and the Polish Institute for Human Rights and Business

As the UNGPs turned 10 in June 2021, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights took stock of the first decade of implementation. The stocktaking highlighted that the UNGPs have led to significant progress by providing a common framework for all stakeholders in managing business-related human rights risks and impacts, but that considerable gaps remain to effectively prevent and remedy harm caused by business, particularly for those in most vulnerable situations. Meaningful progress over the next 10 years depends on how these gaps are addressed.

This session provides an opportunity for States and other stakeholder in CEE region to share their own commitments and plans for scaling-up implementation and effectiveness of the Guiding Principles in the next decade in the region.

This Forum session is part of the Forum track on trends and challenges in promoting business respect for human rights in the context of each region of the world in the context of the Working Group’s project ‘Business and human rights: towards a decade of global implementation' (also known as “UNGPs 10+ / Next Decade BHR”).

Brief description of the session:
The session seeks to bring various relevant stakeholders together, including States, businesses, and business associations, investors, civil society actors and international organizations to discuss business and human rights issues in the Central and Eastern European context. The session will provide a platform to exchange knowledge on the region-specific challenges, share positive developments, as well as forward looking plans for scaling-up action to strengthen implementation of the UNGPs in the next decade and beyond. Among specific issues to be discussed, the session will consider the essential elements of a conducive environment for promoting responsible business conduct and discuss positive practices to overcome existing and systemic challenges, including through empowering stakeholders, building a strong business and human rights multi-stakeholder community as preconditions for moving forward in the next decade to a more effective implementation of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs).

Looking ahead, the region specific challenges require not only better regulation in a “smart mix” of legislative and policy initiatives, but more effective enforcement mechanisms, stronger civil society participation, and bottom-up and inclusive initiatives and strategies which are critical to the improvement of human rights record of companies operating in the region and the creation of a strong business and human rights multi-stakeholder community in the entire Central and Eastern European region.

Key objectives of the session:

• to identify the most significant obstacles and opportunities to implement the UNGPs in the countries of the region;
• to illustrate, through selected case studies, how transparent, multistakeholder and inclusive approaches may enhance/improve corporate respect for human rights and may contribute to the creation of a strong business and human rights community;
• to discuss ways in which victims in the Central and Eastern European region may be empowered in seeking access to effective remedy against business related human rights abuses;

 
Key questions:

• How governments, businesses and civil society actors successfully are overcoming the region-specific challenges to the effective implementation of UNGPs?
• What reforms would create a more conducive environment for responsible business in Central and Eastern Europe? How can multi-stakeholder efforts help to build transformative business models for the future in the region?
• Which good practices and key actors are there in the region for empowering victims in seeking effective remedy for business related human rights abuses?

 
Background to the discussion:

The very diverse region of Central and Eastern Europe continues to experience a low level of awareness on business and human rights. This is due to many factors, including a deficient rule of law environment, low legal awareness, the absence of strong democratic institutions, shrinking space for civil society, weak trade unions, the historic State control on economic processes with State-owned and municipality owned businesses that are not necessarily leading by example in their role as economic actors, as well as the often-ineffective systems of remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses.